Tom and Casy reach the deserted and damaged Joad house. It has
been smashed in at one corner and has been pushed off its
foundations so that it is tilting at an angle. Cotton grows all around
it. The barn is deserted and the well has dried up. The sagging
house is all pushed out of shape. Tom does not know what has
happened. He knows that either his family has moved out for some
reason or is dead. He says, "Somepin's wrong," but "I can't put my
finger on her." He sees a lean gray cat sneaking out of the barn and
notices that the neighbors have not ripped any wooden planks from
the house. He deduces that the neighbors must also have left. Tom
then frees the land turtle he has been carrying in his coat and
pushes it under the house. But the turtle resumes its southwest
journey, heading in its original direction. Tom and Casy watch the
turtle go. Casy observes, "I seen turtles all my life. They're always
goin' someplace. They always seem to want to get there."

The men see somebody coming down the road. As the man comes nearer,
Tom recognizes him as Muley Graves, an old acquaintance. They startle
him by calling his name out loudly, but after a moment's hesitation he
approaches them. Muley recognizes Tom Joad and tells him that his father,
Old Tom, was worried about their leaving since they had not written to
Tom about it. Muley finally tells them that the Joads have gone to Uncle
John's place and are preparing to leave for California. The entire family
has been working in the cotton fields to collect enough money to buy a
car for the journey. Tom is relieved to know that his family has not yet
left.

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Muley then explains why the tenants were evicted and expresses
his resentment at these actions. He declares that although his
family has left, he will stay on this land: "They ain't gettin' rid a
me." He says that his father had settled the land, and now some
large company has bought the land and begrudged the
sharecroppers' margin. In turn, the company tractored all the
tenants off the land.

Tom confesses that he is extremely tired and hungry and is in no condition
to walk to Uncle John's place tonight. He asks Muley if they can go to
his place. Muley is embarrassed and explains that although his family
has left, he has stayed behind and wanders about the land trapping wild
animals to eat. He has some cottontail rabbits and a jackrabbit, and he
willingly shares this food with Tom and Casy, remarking that he does not
have a choice in this matter. As he sees it, if a person has food and
another doesn't, there is no choice. The first person has to share. They
cook the rabbits over a fire and talk about various things as they eat.
Casy says that he plans to travel with the Joads because he wants to help
the people out on the road.

Muley sees the headlights of a car bobbing in the distance, and warns
them that it will be Willy Feely, the Deputy Sheriff, because they are
trespassing. He suggests that they will have to hide to avoid getting
into trouble. Tom is amazed at the transformation of Muley and demands,
"What's come over you, Muley? You wasn't never no run-an'-hide fella.
You was mean." Muley remarks that while earlier he was mean like
a wolf, now he is mean like a weasel.

Tom refuses to hide on his own father's land, but Muley reminds him
that he is out on parole and cannot risk being arrested. This makes sense
to Tom, so they hide in the cotton field until the car leaves. Muley leads
them to a cave where they can sleep without being discovered. Tom says
that he dug this cave with his brother Noah years ago while looking for
gold. Muley sleeps in the cave, but Tom prefers to sleep outside. Casy
says that he will not sleep as he has many things to think about.

Notes

After the generalized account in chapter five of the eviction of the
tenants from the land, this chapter personalizes it through the description
of what happened to the Joads. The reader sees the crumpled Joad house
and can constantly visualize what must have happened in the Joad farm,
just as has happened in countless others. Muley Graves, the living dead,
who has refused to leave this useless, dust-blown land, tells Tom that
Tom's grandpa had offered resistance to the tractor driver and shot the
headlights out on the tractor before stepping aside.

When Muley unselfishly shares his food with Tom and Casy, he acts according
to the dictates of his conscience. His comment that "if a fella's
got somepin' to eat an another fella's hungry--why, the first fella ain't
got no choice" reflects the value of people helping each other. Throughout
the novel, Steinbeck describes how one poor person helps out another;
they have little to give other than assistance. Casy comments on the significance
of Muley's altruistic behavior, remarking that "Muley's got a-holt
of somepin, an' it's too big for him, an' it's too big for me."

Muley's behavior provides a stark contrast to the selfishness of Willy
Feeley, who only cares about his own family. Willy's attitude provides
a parallel to that of Joe Davis's boy in the earlier chapter. This implies
that others have turned on their own people, and similar dramas are being
enacted all across the drought stricken land. For Willy and others like
him, the question of individual survival has gained precedence over community
sharing.

When Muley leads Tom and Casy to a cave, Tom refuses to hide saying,
"I ain't gonna sleep in no cave." This is ironic since later
in chapter 28 of the novel, Tom will hide in a cave and will be extremely
happy to find this shelter. Tom realizes that the fact that he is out
on parole poses certain limitations on his actions and keeps him from
following his natural instincts.